We may have but 17 years to live

[ReaperFett]

Astonomers in New Mexico believe a 2km wide asteroid could hit Earth in 2019. Fun fun fun :)

[Ciara Myst]

Well, since they believe this, then .... *thinks of Armageddon* ....does that mean the fate of the world is going to be put on Bruce Willis' shoulders?!

Sorry. Is there a story on this somewhere on the net? I don't watch tv because everything that is on I've already seen and I hate reruns; the news is way too depressing as well.

[Navaria Tarkin]

well, I like the fact that they say could. Plus, big asteroids fly by often enough and we find out about the after the fact.

[ReaperFett]

Yeah, but we never hear they may hit us 17 years in advance.




We need Steve Buscemi! :)

[Navaria Tarkin]

I dunno ... with technology too, we might have a chance since things progress so fast

[ReaperFett]

We were nearly hit 3 months ago, and we didnt know :)

[ReaperFett]

Here you go Ciara (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020724/od_nm/asteroid_dc_1)




"In the worst case scenario, a disaster of this size would be global in its extent, would create a meltdown of our economic and social life, and would reduce us to dark age conditions," he told Reuters.
Oh, that it? :)

[Ciara Myst]

:) Thanks! Er, yes that's it. You know, the dark ages are highly overrated :lol

[ReaperFett]

I'll keep a torch handy :)

[Ciara Myst]

And I'll bring the marshmallows ;)

[ReaperFett]

Good! :)

[Navaria Tarkin]

I'll make sure to keep some matches laying around

[ReaperFett]

DOes this mean we live in castles? :)

[Navaria Tarkin]

OOOOOOOO

that may be cool. We can wear armor and beat each other up with swords again

[ReaperFett]

Yeah, and the lord of the realm gets his pick of his people :)

[Ciara Myst]

Er ... um .... hm... ok, castles are way cool, only way to live if'n we're to be in the dark ages again. Um, marshmallows, torches, matches, pointy swords, armor ..... k, depending on who the lord of the realm is going to be, i'll make a note to possibly resort to ass kissing just to be sure i dont end up like ... becoming dragon bait or something like that :D

[ReaperFett]

Dragons dont exist :)

[Miryan no Trunks]

Nope, not till the meteor hits. But then, watch out.

We'll all be cruisin' around on the latest model Norwegian Ridgeback (or something like that)

Yeah yeah.

[ReaperFett]

lol! :)

[Ciara Myst]

*Blinks* Yeah what he said. And who knows? Maybe something would be released into the air and make the Komodo Dragons get like ... really huge!

[ReaperFett]

Just the Dragons? :)

[Miryan no Trunks]

And the cats. Giant death cats they'll be. Natural enemy of the dragon, you know.

[ReaperFett]

Sure :)

[Khan Surak]

hm.. let's skip the crusades, eh? >_<

[Miryan no Trunks]

And the Inquisition, preferrably.

[ReaperFett]

But nobody expects that! :)

[Miryan no Trunks]

"Upp, 'is feet're bigger'n mine, 'E's a Witch! Burn'm!"

"-crowd cheering sound effect-"

I'd prefer to avoid a time of such mentality ^_^

[Dark Lord Dyzm]

Ok, maybe if the earth wasn't spinng around the sun, was in a stationary orbit, maybe the gas giants would be perfectly out of the way, maybe even our last line of defense, the moon, would be on the wrong side, maybe, just maybe, it will hit us.

What I find funny about Armageddon and Deap Impact is that the asteriods are drawn to earth perfectly. They are being pulled by the sun, but they get sucked toward the earth. As if earths gravity can fight the suns. We already had a 2km asteriod pass us by in the 80's, right between the earth and the moon did it fly. Even to calculate everything about the asteriod would take 2 solid years.

[ReaperFett]

In Armageddon, it was the size of Texas. They should have evacuated Texas, blown it up, and let watched as the asteroid fit snugly into the hole :)

[Miryan no Trunks]

Or maybe it'll be so big that the moon acts as no more defense than a mosquito versus a windshield

[Alpha]

Funny how I live in NM, and the news hasn't had anything on it...:)

[ReaperFett]

US News isn't worldwide-ly known for being top-range though

[Ki-Adi Kindo]

It all in the hands of God.

[Gabran Darkysa]

Dark ages eh?




:: is the future Prince of South Cal ::



Bow to thou Prince ye commoners...

[Can of WTF]

Good grief, what a sensationalist article.

Read between the lines - they dont have any real idea what the orbit is. Saw this yesterday and went on with my life.

[Admiral Lebron]

Ya know... we can see Asterioid and comets trillians and trillians of miles away and yet, we can't find bin Laden.

[Gabran Darkysa]

Hey cut that out, WTF! You are ruining my fantasy... now where was I... oh yeah...

:: using his best shakespearean imitation ::

mercy and pardon will be shown all beautiful wenches that desire the seed of thou Prince to remain strong...

[Lady Vader]

:lol

Ya know, with all this castle/sword/armor/dragon talk, I have this urge to point in the direction of the TSO Palace...

*Points in the direction of the TSO Palace.* :lol

Fire supplied by dragon. Oh, and BYOM (bring your own marshmallows). :p

[Alpha]

:lol

[Gabran Darkysa]

Ahhh Lady Vader... you know my heart... how about joining me upon this seat...




lol, :)

[Ciara Myst]

*Waves her bag of 'mallows in the air* Can I come too?!

[Lilaena De'Ville]

The Dark Ages are highly underrated. :)

Read Timeline by Michael Crighton. :D

*dusts off her princess clothes and builds a bomb shelter underneath her castle*

I don't think this asteroid is any danger to us at all. What a load of BS. :)

[ReaperFett]

You'll be regretting that when in 2018, only I have a safe underground bunker :)

[Lucifer]

Originally posted by the astroid report "In the worst case scenario, a disaster of this size would be global in its extent, would create a meltdown of our economic and social life, and would reduce us to dark age conditions," he told Reuters.

OH OH OH!....Lord Of The Rings style world?!?!...i got dibs on the Faramir look *Twirls* :lol...after all i already have his pic for Kelt

[Alpha]

Then I beat Fett unconcious and take iot. :)

[ReaperFett]

Alpha, you couldnt beat an egg :)

[Alpha]

Even if I couldn't, you'd still be no problem...:)

[ReaperFett]

I'd have a weapon.

[Alpha]

So would I...:)

[ReaperFett]

I have years of experience

[Alpha]

But you're old and decrepit...I'm young and fast, and could dodge just about anything you throw at me gramps. :)

[ReaperFett]

Experience always pulls through

[Alpha]

Not always...Sometimes the new stuff works better.

[ReaperFett]

You come out suprising, but will lose

[Alpha]

Who says?

[ReaperFett]

Me, obviously

[Alpha]

Well, technically you're not "Saying" anyhting...You know the argument...

[ReaperFett]

I talk as I type.

[Alpha]

So you mutter?

[ReaperFett]

Actually, I mutter all the time :)

[Marcus Telcontar]

I would have a monopoly of frying pans.

And anyway, this is total speculation and BS. It's funding and budject time in the USA and NASA are spruking for money. Hey, rattle up a scare, say the world is doomed, get 100 million more in budget.

Gee, I'm cynical, aint I?

[ReaperFett]

Marcus, you realise that watching for these WOrld Killers gets less money in a year than it took to make Armageddon. IIRC, that's 14% of the Sky. Yeah, let's feel synical, eh?


Oh, and why would a ENGLISH University want to add funds to the US or NASA, hmm?

[Alpha]

No, you're probably right...:)

[Marcus Telcontar]

Yes, I'm cynical. It's also because I read between the lines and I also remembera similar flap 20 years ago about a killer asteroid - that missed us anyway. What the majority of people fali to remember is that space is bloody big and the chace of even this rock hitting the Earth is so tiny, it's not worth the time to even bother. It's more likely a satellite will fallout of sky and hit me. Considering that most NEO's are undetected until they pass Earth and even then most escape undetected, the chances of finding one are tiny, even with the best technology and funding. There is one hell of a lot of area to look over.

So in other words, I simply dont care, there are more pressing things to worry about. Like where the next house payment is coming from

[ReaperFett]

Oh, because there's little chance, why bother! I mean, we could research ways to stop them, plan ahead to make sure they dont hit us. But hey, little chance!



By the way, I was being sarcastic

[Alpha]

So that's why I don't remember the last time that happened...:)

[Marcus Telcontar]

Happens every few years, move along people. Get back to your lives there;s no train wreck here :)

and it sells news.... "GIANT ASTEROID WILL KILL US ALL!!!" - WHOO!! PANIC FOR 5 MINUTES!

Gee, I am rather cynical today.

[Alpha]

Hey, if it sells new, I might get some more money...:) I sell papers to get money. Interesting news in papers=more money for me. :)

[ReaperFett]

This year, an Asteroid was closer to the Earth than the Moon was. That is like hitting the post in Football/Soccer

[Alpha]

Pretty much. :)

[ReaperFett]

But hey, who cares eh?

[Alpha]

Well the people that need money do...This could be their meal ticket for thenext few years...:D

[Marcus Telcontar]

Every year, the Earth's atmosphere is hit by thousands of asteroids of varying sizes. So, one is closer to us than the moon? There was only a few thousand clser than that

[ReaperFett]

Marcus, a BIG one was that close.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Quote - "The error in our knowledge of where NT7 will be on February 1, 2019 is large -- several tens of millions of kilometres," said Dr Donald Yeomans of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Astronomers are keen to emphasise that the chance of collision is extremely unlikely.

Quote - Last month asteroid 2002MN whizzed between earth and the moon at 36,000km/h and was not discovered until three days later.

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,4770048%255E2,00.html

In other words, just as I said. Go back to your lives citizens.

[ReaperFett]

WHile were at it, dont worry about the Ozone Layer kids! I mean, nothings been 100% proved, and you'll be dead by the time it affects us!

[Marcus Telcontar]

Strawman argument and not a valid comparision. The Ozone layer deterioration by CFC's has been proven for 30 years by the CSIRO. An ateroid rooling around in the vastness of space is a very, very ,v ery minor risk. Your more likely to be dead of natural causes well and truly before one hits.

[ReaperFett]

Oh, and btw:


Astronomers are keen to emphasise that the chance of collision is extremely unlikely.
WHAT DO YOU EXPECT THEM TO SAY

"There's a 50/50 chance. Were I you, I would PANIC!!!!"? :)

[Marcus Telcontar]

It's simlpy acknowelding that fact that we are in a great big piece of nothing. Space is rather big you know.

[ReaperFett]

Well, duh

[Sean Piett]

The mafia killed Marilyn Monroe. I KNOW IT. :rolleyes



I planned to stick a remark about moving to Bel Air if we went feudal, but it was just stupid.

[Lady Vader]

:rolleyes

:lol


http://www.fortunecity.com/rivendell/legend/728/graphics/dragonbar.gif

[ReaperFett]

:)

[Figrin D'an]

Define "Irony":

Spending millions of dollars to alter the course of a single asteriod over a period of 17 years that may or may not put the Earth in peril, only to have one of similar such properties escape our attention, hit the Earth, and bring about a new Ice Age.



One is more likely to be struck by lightning twice, in the same location.

Woohoo for media sensationalism...

[Jedi Neo]

::Invests in real estate in Europe.::

Muhahahaha!!!

[Marcus Telcontar]

I have some loverly land on Mars for y'all to sell

[Jedi Neo]

If you can get me there, I'll buy some land from ya...

But only if there are Green martians on it.

I would hate to live alone.

[Seerrasseei Tsseerra]

lol, personally I don't fear things that may happen in the future because despite how much one worries, it doesn't stop it from happening.

and in the words of Albert E. "I never think of the future, it comes soon enough."

[Marcus Telcontar]

A very good quote. I personally just think I have enough things to worry about here and now, without adding some shady thing that will probably never happen anyway

[Seerrasseei Tsseerra]

yep, there's enough happening to not focus on something that will probably never happen.....

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I want to be a princess. :(:cry

[Marcus Telcontar]

Would this castle on Venus I am selling, with appropriate regal title do for you?

[Darth Pyrone]

Maybe this doesn't matter at all in any way since we cannot know for sure if something is going to hit us beyond a week in advance.

[Marcus Telcontar]

What I always find interesting is that these stories always come with a priceetag of what scientists want and always some die warning. That really all they are in the end, sensationalism to get money for space viewing and study. You see, you cant search for these things, space is too damn big. All you can do is look in a direction and maybe you will see a spot move. Usually, these spots are not lit up. Basically, dedicated searching is useless and has no real point and the chance of actually finding something before it decks a contenent is absolutly minimal.

How these things are found iis by studying grids for changes and these grids are usually obtained becuase the scientists are looking at something else. Oh, and amatuers with telescopes who just happen to be looking in the right direction and spot something

Deliberatly looking IMO is a waste of time. Just step up normal observation and more will be found anyway.

[Darth Pyrone]

Thats just speculation. We could say anything we want and believe it. I doubt that what you said in your first paragraph has much realism in it. But it is true that they do just stumble upon these things, that doesn't mean that they aren't trustworthy. But it is true that we really cannot accurately predict something like that without it being too late to do anything about it... if there was anything we could do about it.

[Marcus Telcontar]

If you read the article on this, half of it is a spruking effort. It admits the chances of this thing even getting close to earth are absolutly tiny. So why say anything? Forgive my cynicism, but scientists are media savvy too. They are fighting for an ever decreasing slice of funding from Governments and they need to justify their existance or be closed down. I'm not saying they are not to be trusted, I am saying that I would view this with a healthy dose of cynicism and reading between the lines. What's a better way to say they are doing something useful than to pipe up with a asteroid alert? *

* Lived far too long with a father who ran a public service department. He always said the best way to get money was to do a bit of media feeding. So, if you wanted money for mine saftey, get report on defects 'anonymously' reported on

[ReaperFett]

I want to be a princess.
Ask and we might call you it! :)

[Alpha]

Or at least Fett would...:)

[ReaperFett]

Actually, I'd probably try to think of some hugely inventive. Im individualistic like that :)

[Alpha]

Now lets all repeat the non-conformist oath...:)

[ReaperFett]

lol :)

[Alpha]

:) I know.

[Jedi Neo]

I like to think about it like this, if it were something I'd worry about, I wouldn't be cracking jokes right now.

So what did the chicken say to the Starfish.

[Alpha]

I don't know. what DID the chicken say?

[Jedi Neo]

Nothing I ate it...

[Alpha]

:lol...Bad joke. :)

[Jedi Neo]

Hay, I never said that they were good jokes. Just jokes that I pull out of my head from time to time.

After all, it's not the person who answers the joke whose supposed to laugh, but the teller.

That will be $5

[Alpha]

*jaw drops*

You charge by the joke now? :)

[Ciara Myst]

Hey, well, um ... lets get back to plotting our lives in the dark ages, eh? Now, where were we??? Oh yes, Fett was thinking he would be the lord of the realm .... *wanders off to explore castles?*

[ReaperFett]

Fett doesnt THINK he'd be lord of the realm ;)

[Alpha]

He doesn't think at all actually. :D :)

[ReaperFett]

*Smacks Alpha*


No, I KNOW.

:)

[Alpha]

You don't know much of anything either. :) You've said so yourself...:D

[ReaperFett]

You don't know much of anything either
You were talking about me originally, why EITHER?

[Alpha]

Yu don't think at all, yet you don't know much of anything either...:) Does that make more sense? :)

[ReaperFett]

No, not at all. Try in a commonly used language this time :)

[Alpha]

That IS a commonly used language. :)

[ReaperFett]

Alphaish isnt common :)

[Alpha]

Around where I live it is. Alphaish is actually the way we talk down here in Socorro. :)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I wanna be a princess!!

[ReaperFett]

say please :)

[Gabran Darkysa]

I want to be a Lord with royal concubine...



:)

[Alpha]

:lol.

Nice ambition Gabran. :)

[ReaperFett]

lol :)

[Gabran Darkysa]

Yup! :lol

[Alpha]

I admire you! :)

[ReaperFett]

You admire anything though :)

[Alpha]

Not anything...Just a few certain things...:)

[ReaperFett]

Examples?

[Alpha]

I admire money, moneyh, money, the pursuit of money, the pursuit of women, and stuff like that. :)

[ReaperFett]

you admire moneyh eh? :)

[Alpha]

Yes. I like money. Money is my friend. :)

[ReaperFett]

but what about moneyh? :)

[Alpha]

damn typo...:)

[ReaperFett]

:)

[Alpha]

Come on, you make typos all the time. :)

[ReaperFett]

And? Doesn't mean I can't mock :)

[Alpha]

Grrr....That logic again! :)

[Admiral Lebron]

I keep thinking alpha's avatar is a duck. lol

[ReaperFett]

Yep, correct logic :)

[Alpha]

Leb~How do you see a duck there? :)

[ReaperFett]

*stares blankly*

:)

[Alpha]

Do you see a duck Fett?

[Ciara Myst]

I see a duck. *Smacks her forehead at the concubine comment* Oy! I think LD and I should be like the Queens or Lady's of this realm and WE get to rule over the men, make em our slaves and whipping boys ;)

[Marcus Telcontar]

Not over me you wont. Cause someone might have a few words to say about who gets to enslave me

[Ciara Myst]

*pings a marshmallow off of Marcus' forehead* Who said we were gonna enslave ya? Hm? :lol We can just enslave the single guys. Ok.. well that make a mighty small slave population

[Marcus Telcontar]

Single in RL or single IC?

[Darth Viscera]

If a big asteroid comes along, I'll likely we wiped out by a very large tsunami, but not before the U.K. drowns.

So while you're busy planning for the future dark ages, add in the daily singing of the song "Under the Sea" from The Little Mermaid.

[ReaperFett]

I dont see a duck :)

[Alpha]

Neither do I...:) Where is the duck?! :)

[Admiral Lebron]

If you just glance at it. Its a duck!

[Alpha]

I'm sorry...I still don't see iot...

[Chase Starwalker]

yeap it's likely to hit the water somewhere.....surf's up :)

[Admiral Lebron]

Look harder!

[Alpha]

*looks till his eyes explode, followed by his head exploding...again*

Nope. Still don't see it.

[Ciara Myst]

"Under da sea, under da sea, darling its betta down where its wetta take it from me! Up on da shore all day, out in da sun they slave away ...." <----likes the lil mermaid songs, tyvm!

HUH!? Single IC and RL! Hell, if I'm gonna enslave ppl, might as well cover both the IC and RL, eh!? :lol

[Alpha]

Hmmm....IC, I'm free. :) :lol

[Gabran Darkysa]

:: Picks up Alpha and tosses him in the Romper Room ::




I am free... but sort of sidelined right now... lol!

[Alpha]

*comes back and beats Gabran with FORCE ALPHA*

[Gabran Darkysa]

:: Force Pans Alpha back into the Romper Room ::




:)

[Lord Gue]

Thats where I got yall, secret bunker built out midwest. 2 miles down, all the necesities. Then again, prolly end up like the morlocks

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Can I *please* be a princess? :(

[Gabran Darkysa]

Originally posted by Lilaena De'Ville
Can I *please* be a princess? :(

Not until you swear fealty to me... :)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I was asking Fett. :mad

[ReaperFett]

Go on then :)





(Cue edited old pic;))

[Sean Piett]

She has a mighty high crown for a princess :)

[ReaperFett]

You should see how big it gets for a promotion :)

[Sean Piett]

I wonder if they hire someone to wear it for them or not.

[Alpha]

:lol

[Sasseeri Reeouurra]

:cat

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I'm a pretty pretty princess! *neck breaks under weight of the imaginary crown*

Actually, that looks like a paper crown. :cry

[Alpha]

Could be metal convered in paper? :)

[ReaperFett]

It's paper gold :)

[Alpha]

Paper painted gold? Or gold painted paper? :)

[ReaperFett]

Real gold, paper



That was a Bond theme wasnt it?

"Goooooooldpaper......"


:)

[Nupraptor]

This asteroid has been given a 0.06 on the Palermo technical scale (http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/risk/doc/palermo.html), which means it shouldn't bump 'Getting run over by a llama' off your list of worries.

[Mr Wednesdaydale]

Thank you, God of Reason.

[ReaperFett]

And there little chance of dying in an air accident. DOesnt mean you cut down on precautions

[Mr Wednesdaydale]

Don't get into a statistical argument with me, Dr. Contrary. I'll unscrew your head and crap down your neck >D

[ReaperFett]

You dont scare me :)

[Taataani Meorrrei]

(Goes for Fett's jugular) :cat

[ReaperFett]

*dodges, goes for Taa's Acrobat*



:)

[Taataani Meorrrei]

:huh

[ReaperFett]

You went for my jugular. So I went for someone from your circus!



:)

[Taataani Meorrrei]

this is confusing :(

[ReaperFett]

JUGGLER!

[Taataani Meorrrei]

D'oh!

>_<

Can't your Queen sentence you to death for jokes like that?

[ReaperFett]

Nah, I'm sure she'd find me hilarious and witty :)

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Because she's old and senile now :)

[ReaperFett]

Well, someone has to find me funny :)

[Ciara Myst]

Ok, well Mr. Wednesday might not have scared you, Mr Fett, but he just scared the pants offa me!

[Lilaena De'Ville]

*hands Ciara a robe* We frown on being pantless in a public forum. :D ;)

The God of Reason vs. Mr Contrary! It doesn't get any better than this. :p

[Admiral Lebron]

Libba Libba Libba Louh Libba Louh.

[Alpha]

Mark makes people pantless and you dont have a prob w/ that...:) ;)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

He's older than me. I don't want to scare him into having a heart attack.

[Marcus Telcontar]

I think my heart can handle a bit of pantless action.

[Nupraptor]

Astronomers said Monday they have determined that a newly discovered, 1.2-mile-wide asteroid will miss the Earth in 2019.http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/space/07/29/asteroid.threat.ap/index.html

*Yawn*

This happens every couple of years.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Exactly. And in three years time the same Chicken Littles will be running around about another asteroid.

[ReaperFett]

Nup, think this way. THey may very well have decided it's impossible, but they're hardly going to tell us it will hit home, are they?


And besides, it didnt rule out it hitting us ;)

[Marcus Telcontar]

Think of it this way....

* Yawn *

Next topic please

[ReaperFett]

Why? Because this has gone back vaguely ontopic, does it make you uncomfortable?

[Marcus Telcontar]

No, because it's been shown to be a scientist trolling and no more. We'll have these "scares" in a few more years time and they will, yet again prove to be unfounded.

Move along people, there's nothing to see here.

[ReaperFett]

Oh, that makes sense. You agree with one bunch, but disagree with another, thus making them trolls?


Oh, and BTW, the last "scare" we had was that an asteroid was closer to us than the moon, and noone noticed until late on

[Marcus Telcontar]

I've replied to that and your simply repeating yourself again and again. What's your point?

To summise - this "scare" was if you read between the lines a troll for publicity and funding. Whne half the linked article discusses funding, it's clear there is an ulterior motive. It's simply not possibel to deliberatly look for NEO's, so it's a troll basically saying look at the good job we do, can we have more money please? Cynical but absolutly true. It's how public funded bodies work. Say something loud that establishes your still worthwhile getting money for. Hey, these astronomers arent really interested in NEO, they want to scan further out, cause they know very well deliberatly finding a NEO is almsot impossible. NEO's are found by doing other observation work and noting something else changes. Have you really considered how much space is out there and how hard even a big object to be found?

The asteroid that hits the earth wont be found until it hits and it wont be doing it until looooooong after we are gone.

It's cheap publicity and they exploited it. Accept that fact, cause it's how the quangos work and any body seeking public funding. You really think Goverments are goign to spend x amount on millions on NEO hunting, esp considering I have more chance of being run over by a Llama tomorrow than a NEO hitting and wiping us out in our lifetime? It's a waste of money. Just get on with real astonomy.

[ReaperFett]

No, get it right. YOU read between the lines to read what you wanted to see. Why would Liverpool University fund NASA?


The asteroid that hits the earth wont be found until it hits and it wont be doing it until looooooong after we are gone.
That's why they should put more into it, and because they don't your second point is unprovable.


You really think Goverments are goign to spend x amount on millions on NEO hunting, esp considering I have more chance of being run over by a Llama tomorrow than a NEO hitting and wiping us out in our lifetime?

Run over by Llama = 1 person dead possibly

Asteroid hits = mass wipeout, entire world has to basically start again


You know I think that one is a TEENSY bit more important.


But hey, let's stick with that. You're safer in an Aeroplane over a car. So let's stop increasing safety in planes!

[Marcus Telcontar]

No, get it right. YOU read between the lines to read what you wanted to see. Why would Liverpool University fund NASA?

You think NASA are going to say no to funding? They are being funding squeezed these days, they are being asked to do more with a good deal less. The article I read and linked to many, many posts ago referred not to Liverpool Uni, but was proclaiming funding shortages. A lot. Not hard to work out what the point of the article was and the opportunity presented for a bit of sensationalism. We want money! We can find these things! Gimme! Nope, try again. What they really want the money for is dry and boring to the casual person. But asteroids hitting earth... hey, now there be something Joe Blow can relate to! Lets use that issue!. We justify our budgets and get back to our real work.


That's why they should put more into it, and because they don't your second point is unprovable.

Wrong. Look up. How much space is up there and just how much room is there to hide somethign and how long do you think it would take to sweep the sky in a deliberate NEO search? It's not unprovable, it common sene. NEO's are found by accident looking at something else. Even PArkes, the 60m telescope in Australia and one of the best positions cant possibly look at more than a tiny fraction of the sky at a time. You also need to be a really bright object to be seen as well, be that in the visible spectrums or other spectrums.

Some of the best NEO finders BTW are kids with telescopes on a roof somewhere. If I remember right, there is one amateur who holds the record for NEO's and comet discovery. And he even admitted it's mainly dumb luck

And your last point is a strawman and not even worth thinking about beyond this - Sure. we could be all killed by a asteroid. But the chances are sooooooo unlikely.... who cares? There are better things to give two tosses about. Real things. Like, will my toliet flush tomorrow?

[ReaperFett]

Not hard to work out what the point of the article was
No, it is how you, King Synical, read it. Big difference.



Wrong. Look up. How much space is up there and just how much room is there to hide somethign and how long do you think it would take to sweep the sky in a deliberate NEO search? It's not unprovable, it common sene

You have many scanning small areas. I would call that common sense myself. You'd even have overlaps, so there would be others to back it up.



And your last point is a strawman and not even worth thinking about beyond this - Sure. we could be all killed by a asteroid. But the chances are sooooooo unlikely.... who cares? There are better things to give two tosses about. Real things. Like, will my toliet flush tomorrow?

I've never been in a car crash. So I've never needed a seatbelt. I'LL NEVER USE IT AGAIN!

And the people who care are those who give a bleep about the human race surviving more than a few more generations

[ReaperFett]

Apparently btw, Mayan calenders all for some reason ended on 2019. WOuldnt be the same year due to time counting differences, but still a funny fact considering :)